The Way It Should Have Been
by HardcoreEvilRegal
Summary: My take on how I think the Swan Queen reunion should have gone.


**Disclaimer**: I do not own these characters, nor do I own anything from the show. Although, this episode made me wish that I did. I just have crazy ideas. So shoot me if I wanna write them down!

**Side Note**: Wrote this because of how pissed the Winter finale made me with everyone just leaving Regina behind. Ungrateful shits. I thought I'd rewrite these two scenes a little bit more to us Evil Regals/SWENS liking. Hope you guys enjoy this more than what really happened. Lol. Also, not beta-ed, so all mistakes are mine.

* * *

When Emma crawled out of that well with Mary Margaret…Snow…her mother, she hadn't been expecting Regina to be there. To be fair, she hadn't been sure what to expect at all. After being in Fairytale Land though, not much would have surprised her. But seeing Regina on the ground? Definite surprise. That was who her attention had been on when her feet landed on the ground, but it was quickly averted to Henry when the blonde heard his voice calling out to her. Emma quickly opened her arms and welcomed her sons embrace. The feeling of actually having him in her arms was overwhelming.

"Henry! I missed you!" Emma exclaimed, hugging Henry tighter than she ever had.

The feeling of Mary Margaret wrapping her arms around them was barely registered, Emma was too caught up in finally seeing her son again. The little moment between the three of them was broken after a moment when they finally looked up. The sight of Mr. Gold walking away and Ruby picking herself up off the ground finally registered with Emma and Mary Margaret, a look of surprise on both of their faces.

"What's going on? What happened?" Mary Margaret finally asked, surprise turning to confusion in almost an instant.

"She saved you! She saved both of you." Henry said, turning towards Regina as she slowly picked herself up from the ground.

The recently returned pair gasped as they looked up at Regina in astonishment. Clearly they hadn't been expecting such an answer. Emma's eyes locked onto Regina's face and she felt her chest squeeze a bit at the sight of the woman. Emma never thought she'd be so happy to see Regina, but she sure as hell was. The blonde suddenly had the urge to wrap her arms around Regina and kiss her, but instead of going through with it, she hugged Henry tighter and decided to thank Regina instead.

"Thank you." Emma nearly whispered, still feeling slightly out of breath after coming out of a giant, magical hole.

"You're welcome." Regina breathed out, obviously trying to catch her own breath as well.

Emma wasn't sure if Regina was hurt or not, but she had the feeling Regina had just been through hell to bring them back. Again that urge to hug and kiss Regina flared in Emma's chest and instead of hugging Henry again, she let go of the boy and fumbled her way over to the former Queen. Regina visibly tensed when Emma approached, obviously taking on a defensive stance just in case. Emma ignored it and stepped as close as possible to the older woman, a large smile spread across thin lips.

"Really, Regina. Thank you. So much." Emma whispered, wrapping her arms around the tense woman tightly.

For a small moment, Regina had found herself relaxing into the hug, almost like she had been waiting for it the entire time Emma was away. However, she barely reciprocated the hug before tensing once again and clearing her throat. Emma reluctantly let go of Regina and the brunette stepped away from the blonde. Regina was about to speak up when she was interrupted by the sound of Ruby running up to Mary Margaret and throwing her arms around her friend. Emma and Henry's attention turned to them as well and Regina looked away, feeling completely uncomfortable with watching them.

"Where's my husband? I have to find him!" Mary Margaret blurted, letting go of Ruby and snapping Regina's attention back to the small group.

Regina stayed leaning against the tree as Ruby grabbed Mary Margaret and ran off with her, leaving her to stand with Emma and Henry. When the pair approached her, Regina didn't even look up. At least, not until Emma decided to mention her mother.

"Your mom." Emma began, arms holding tightly onto Henry once again as the little boy clung tightly to her. "She's uh…she's a piece of work, you know?" The blonde almost sounds surprised and Regina nodded her head in agreement.

"Indeed I do." Regina said, remembering and knowing very well just how much of a piece of work her mother truly is. A moment of silence passed between them before Regina gave Emma a small smile and another nod of her head. "Welcome back." And it's almost unknown to both of them of just how much meaning is packed into those two tiny words.

"Thanks." Emma muttered, sucking in a deep breath and leaning her head against Henry's own.

Silence surrounded them yet again and it takes a moment before Regina clears her throat once more.

"I suppose we should get back to town." Regina pointed out, sticking her fists into her pocket and pushing herself away fro the tree.

Emma nodded, agreeing completely. Henry only continued to cling to his birth mother, finding himself the happiest he'd been since Emma and Mary Margaret had disappeared. The trio walked back to town in silence, but the stolen glances every now and then Emma and Regina had been exchanging did not go unnoticed by their ten year old son. He wanted to point it out, but decided it would be better if he just sat back and observed them. Bringing the way they look at each other to the forefront would surely make Regina close up even further.

The walk back to town had given Emma time to think about the way her chest constricted every time she looked at Regina. She had even begun to wonder what exactly it meant that Cora couldn't take her heart. However, even though she was curious of the reason, she was grateful Cora hadn't been able to rip her heart fro her chest. Her own words to Cora rang through her head as she walked with Regina and Henry. '_No. It's strength.'_ It was those words alone that made her wonder if her 'love' was what had helped Regina to get that hat working in the first place. Emma's heart had squeezed tightly in her chest at the thought, but before she could think on it any further, a bell ringing had brought her back to the present.

Quickly, Emma had slipped inside Gold's pawn shop and into the back with her mother. From the corner of her eye, she saw Regina disappear into the back of the small group surrounding David…Charming….her father. The sleeping man had caught her attention though as Mary Margaret sat next to her husband, tears filling her eyes. Emma and Henry clung to each other yet again as they watched the scene play out before them. Mary Margaret leaned down and placed a kiss to Charming's lips, a wave of magic spreading out from the pair, just as it had done when she'd woken Henry up. There was a beat of silence before Charming gasped, eyes opening to take in the face of his wife hovering above them. Everyone in the room let out the breaths they had been holding when Charming finally spoke.

As Emma's parents, a term she was positive she'd never get used to, kissed and hugged their love out, Emma looked at Regina from the corner of her eyes. The look of pure heartbreak on the brunette's face was something Emma wished she could erase. It was then that she remembered hearing about her love, Daniel, and Emma's heart shattered for Regina as she stood with their son in her arms. Emma nearly took a step towards Regina, but she thought better of it. Surely Regina would quickly object to her pity. So, as Mary Margaret and Charming had their little reunion, Emma let go of Henry and walked back towards the front of the store to find Mr. Gold.

* * *

Emma had made her way to the back room once more, feeling odd after her conversation with Gold. It was as she looked up to find Henry that she saw him approaching Regina. Emma stepped closer to hear the ten year old boy, but stayed far enough away so she wouldn't spook Regina out of what would be a tender moment between mother and son.

"I was right." Emma heard Henry say. "You really have changed."

Tears pricked at Emma's eyes as she watched Henry willingly step into Regina and throw his small arms around her. She had to swallow a few times to keep from actually crying. It was such a beautiful little moment to see, the smile and hopeful look on Regina's face as she hugged her son back. Emma wiped at her eyes, trying desperately to keep from letting tears escape. The blonde was sure she had never seen Regina look so…beautiful. That word jumped out in her mind and surprised Emma, but there was no denying. The love emanating from Regina as she hugged Henry tightly made the brunette glow. How anyone could say she wasn't Henry's mother was clearly blind. That thought made it dawn on Emma that she had been exactly that…blind. Blind to who Regina could be and the kind of mother she had been to Henry. Blind to what exactly the future could hold for the three of them.

Emma finally appeared into view, smiling at her mother and father as they looked up at her. In a rush of a small moment, all agreed to venture to Granny's diner for food. Emma could not have been happier to finally make it to some real food.

"Hey kid." Emma called to Henry, smiling brightly at her son. "You hungry?"

Henry, of course, was enthusiastic and let go Regina immediately. The look of hurt that flashed across Regina's face made Emma's chest constrict and she immediately felt terrible for messing with Regina's moment with Henry. The woman looked broken and alone as everyone turned to file out of the shop and towards Granny's. Emma turned with Henry, ready to leave, but instead of leaving with the others, she stopped and turned to Regina.

"Regina?" Emma called, voice softer towards the woman than it had ever been before.

Regina looked up, trying to mask her hurt, but failing miserably. She cleared her throat before speaking.

"Yes, Ms… Yes, Emma?" Regina questioned, not able to find it in herself to be as formal as she had been with the blonde before now.

"You should come with us. You saved our asses. The least we can do is buy you dinner." Emma admitted, giving Regina her famous crooked smile. This was an odd dynamic between them, and one that needed work, but Emma was not about to bash the woman who had saved her life and reunited her with her son.

Regina was silent for a moment, brown eyes switching between Emma and Henry's hopeful faces. After one more silent moment, she nodded. "I don't see why not." With that, Regina smiled very lightly at Emma and walked to Henry to smooth down his hair. She was covering up the fact that she was elated she had been invited to dinner with them, but Emma and Henry both could see right through her. Just before Regina moved to make her way past the pair, Henry grabbed her hand and smiled up at her.

"We can walk together, Mom." He said.

Regina had to hold back tears yet again, only this time for an entirely different reason. The older woman squeezed Henry's hand and nodded. "Thank you, Henry."

Henry shook his head and licked his lips. "No, thank you."

Dinner at the diner had been a bit awkward for Regina. Everyone in the diner, except for Henry and Emma, kept giving her sideways glances and mumbled things about her every now and then. Henry had told her to just ignore them, but it was hard to do so. When Regina had finally left, she had let out a long breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when she stepped out the door. Just as she had stepped off of the porch of the diner, the bell rang and Henry called out to her.

"Can we come home with you, Mom?" Henry asked hopefully, Emma standing behind him with an almost equal smile.

Regina blinked, unused to this feeling of hope thundering through her chest. Her first instinct was to crush it, to get rid of the hope before it could bloom, but one look at Henry's smiling face and Regina broke down.

"Of course, dear." She answered, smiling at her son.

The walk back to her home was filled with Henry asking tons of questions to Emma about Fairytale Land. Regina had tuned out most of what Emma answered, except for when the blonde mentioned her mother. Emma had not talked of her much though, sensing the dread from Regina when she did. When Regina unlocked her front door, she was relieved when Henry stopped chattering and raced up to his room. Regina nearly reprimanded him for running in the house, but she bit back her tongue and closed the door behind them just as Emma stepped in.

As she removed her jacket, Regina felt Emma's probing green eyes watching her, but she refused to turn and look back at the younger woman. She warred with herself on just exactly what she was feeling with Emma standing in the room as she opened the small closet door and placed her jacket on a hanger. When she turned around, Emma was closer to her than she had remembered. Regina gasped and took a step back, nearly flinching under Emma's curious and somewhat soul searching gaze. The way Emma was looking at her shook Regina to her core.

Henry could be heard shuffling around upstairs, but neither woman moved. Instead, they stayed in a staring contest, neither blinking or even breathing. Finally, Emma moved a little closer to Regina, truly invading her personal space.

"I want to thank you, Regina." Emma began, but Regina held up her hand.

"You've already done that." She rasped, feeling as if she should back up, but finding that she couldn't.

"I know, but I'm never going to stop thanking you. You saved my life."

Emma's hot breath was on Regina by now as the blonde leaned forward a little. The blonde almost had her kiss, but Regina moved her head and Emma's lips landed on Regina's perfect jawbone.

"I did it for Henry." Regina explained (and halfway lied), fighting off the urges and voices that told her she wanted Emma to kiss her. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about Emma since they had disappeared into Fairytale Land. Regina didn't want to admit to herself that she had missed Emma. Certainly didn't want to admit that she wanted to kiss the lips hovering so close to her own.

Emma was not to be dismissed though. Instead, the blonde smiled and didn't budge an inch. "I know," Was the only answer Emma gave before going in for the kill once more. This time their lips connected and Regina gasped as a shock of something beautifully electrifying scattered throughout her body. Her body moved of its own accord, two sides of her mind fussing with each other as she kissed Emma back. Regina found it completely unexpected how right it felt to be kissing Emma Swan. The kiss ended too quickly for Regina's liking, even if she would never admit it, and she stumbled back a little. Brown eye met green and there was a rather large smile on Emma's face, one just boasting with satisfactory and victory.

"I missed you too, Regina."


End file.
